Community Health-Disaster in Franklin County
Connie DiPietrantonio
Western Governors University
HAT 4 – Community Health Nursing
November 2011

Disaster in Franklin County
The Role of Health Personnel and the Public Nurse
The major role of the public health personnel in a disaster are varied and included the immediate safety and well-being of the members of the community, as well as attention to potential future long term issues. The public health nurse is one of the members of the public health personnel that would help as a member of strike or task force or even possibly as an individual entity, depending on the need. In this disaster the public health personnel had to deal with multiple problems both during …show more content…

This will assure the resident’s continue safety and well-being. The next nurse encounter is a woman that is overwhelmed by her situation and lack of supplies for her infant. There also appears to be an issue with relationship strain with her spouse. Most immediately, the nurse must get the supplies for the infant. As the health of the child is of primary concern here and could quickly become an emergency situation if not addressed. The nurse will use her liaison officer to help with the delivery of necessary supplies. Additionally, it is important for the nurse to determine the next best place for this family. It is equally important that she include the woman in this decision. The options are staying put, getting her the infant supplies and letting her know electricity will could still be at another couple days. Or offering to move them to the shelter, where she and her entire family will have electricity, hot meals, and plenty of supplies. Either way it will be appropriate for social services or the nurse to call on these residents again; to help with resources to get them back on their feet and further look at the domestic issues. By including the woman in the decision making process of what should be done next, the nurse she gives the woman a sense of control, where she may feel she currently has little. The nurse also